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Top Ten Reasons I Hate My MacBook Pro

Yesterday we discussed the Top Ten Reasons I Love my MacBook Pro and today, to be fair, we look at the darker side of the MacBook Pro in the definitive Top Ten List of Hates:

1. Heat: The 17-inch MacBook I have runs hot. Because the case is made of metal the heat goes directly from inside the machine to the case and outside right to your hands. I don’t mind the heat so much but, compared to my other Windows laptops made of plastic, I wonder if this burning MacBook metal is a better or worse sensation or if my wondering is merely being sensational.

2. Whine: It seems many MacBook Pros have an annoying high-pitched whine that Apple cannot seem to fix or even make it clear if they think the problem exists or not. I don’t mind the whine so much — many blame it on the new Intel chip in the MacBook Pros and Intel blames Apple and Apple says nothing — because I always have iTunes playing, the TV is on, the radio is turned up and my Vornado fans are blowing full blast. My poor cat, however, refuses to sit on my lap now. The whine hurts his ears and in a quiet room it hurts mine, too. I can’t imagine using this MacBook Pro in a library where quiet is the mandate of the day: I’d be tossed out on my dual-core.

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Top Ten Reasons I Love My MacBook Pro

I have had my MacBook Pro for a month now and so far I believe it is the best machine I have ever owned. I have owned a lot of machines! The key to loving the MacBook Pro was to make it my main box — my ThinkPad T43p is still here — but over there as my secondary machine now. Now I do everything with my MacBook Pro.

I have been able to nearly replicate my entire Windows experience on my MacBook Pro by purchasing or cross-grading over to the Mac version of the software. Here are the Top Ten Reasons I am loving my MacBook Pro:

1. Mail: I do a lot of email every day. I get a lot of Spam and Junk. I need to easily reply to 11 email accounts throughout an 18 hour workday using IMAP. The bundled Mail application in OS X is truly magnificent. It beats Outlook 2003 and Entourage 2004 in every conceivable way. The application is fast, robust, reliable and super-easy to setup and manage. I could not ask for a better way to manage my mail and the fact that Mail is bundled for free as part of my MacBook Pro experience is a delight unlike no other.
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41 High Priority Updates

Yesterday I pulled through my collection of IBM ThinkPads to see which ones worked and which ones needed an update to start working again.
I found my old ThinkPad T40p with its massive — at that time — 40gig HDD that I used two years ago and ran into the ground with heavy usage. 

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Logitech Z-2300 2.1 THX-Certified Sound System Review

One of the most overlooked vital pieces of setting up a good computer experience is getting the right sound system to compliment your multimedia experience. I am a laptop user and many think getting good sound out of such a small embedded subsystem is not possible, but the Logitech Z-2300 2.1 THX-Certified Sound System proves delicate and thundering sound can be had in an instant for around $90.

Logitech Z-2300 THX Speaker System

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Toshiba Qosmio G15-AV501

I used to be a big TabletPC fan. A year ago I purchased a Toshiba M205 TabletPC and I found it to be a fine machine. It was reliable. It had a great keyboard. It had a rotten screen for viewing. The screen resolution was incredible but it was like trying to see that resolution through a schmear of Vaseline.

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The CP/M Kaypro 2x

I am reading the great Andy Rathbone’s Windows XP for Dummies book and on the “About the Author” page Andy reveals his first computer was a “26-pound portable CP/M Kaypro 2x” that he bought in 1985.

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DVD: The New Spin

by Guy Lerner

DVD (digital versatile disc) has come of age as the defacto crossover medium from the waning days of analogue to the waxing years of digital. But it hasn’t been an easy drive by any means, and the road ahead is still far from certain.

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When In Doubt? FDISK!

by Clem Kohl

Some days you know at once that it just isn’t your day. The world is against you, your wife is against you and the dog won’t let you touch her. Well, it wasn’t my day last Monday when I was putting what I thought would be the finishing touches on a new computer I was building.

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Going to Church

by Joyce Kohl

One day out of the blue, my husband Clem says to me: “I’ m going to church. Be back soon.”

After I picked myself up from the floor and wondered if all the church bells in the state of Arizona would start ringing when they heard Clem’s going to church, I quietly said: “CHURCH?!?”

To which Clem replied: “Computer store. I’m going to walk up and down the aisles and worship. I’m off to Saint CompUSA… seeya later.”

Well, I laughed all day long. I suppose you’d have to have been there to get the full effect, but at least I know that, in his own way, Clem saw the sale light and found religion!